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The Heights Center Presents Nashville Songwriters on Stage March 25

Fort Myers, FL -- The Heights Center presents Nashville Songwriters on Stage Tuesday, March 25 at the Center, 15570 Hagie Drive in Fort Myers. Three highly accomplished hit songwriters will perform their popular compositions and tell the stories behind them. The evening will feature the famous Gordon Kennedy (Change the World), Danny Flowers (Tulsa Time) and Grammy award-winning Randy Thomas (Butterfly Kisses). General admission tickets are $75 and VIP tickets that include a reception with hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and meet & greet with the songwriters are $150. VIP reception starts at 6:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Showtime from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

All proceeds benefit the Heights Center, a place for education, opportunity, and enrichment. The Center’s mission is to promote family and community development, support education, health and wellness, and provide the benefits of enrichment, expressive and cultural arts in the Harlem Heights neighborhood.

Danny Flowers may be best known for having penned classic hits for other artists, but also as a solo artist his bluesy blend of raw emotion, combined with a heartfelt yearning, will speak to your very soul.

Flower’s writing credits span several genres and his flexibility as a guitarist and wordsmith is well-known. He penned “Tulsa Time” for Eric Clapton, which Don Williams also cut. Williams then had hits with “Back in My Younger Days,” “Senorita,” and “To Be Your Man.” Emmylou Harris recorded “Before Believing” and “Gulf Coast Highway” was recorded by Emmylou and Willie Nelson as well as by Nanci Griffith and Evangeline. The list goes on.

Flowers still manages to maintain the poise and humility of a Zen master while tossing off riffs with incredible taste and feeling reminiscent of Ry Cooder’s gospel-like grooves with a slide guitar virtuosity and delicate upper-register vocal vibratos of David Lindley.

Gordon Kennedy

Gordon Kennedy is a multi-Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer, world-class guitarist and visionary at the forefront of Nashville’s music community. Kennedy’s name became nationally recognized when he won Song of the Year at the 1997 Grammys for Eric Clapton’s No. 1 hit, “Change the World,” which he co-wrote with Wayne Kirkpatrick and Tommy Sims.

Some of his most notable cuts include his Bonnie Raitt singles, “I Can’t Help You Now” and “I Will Not Be Broken,” his Garth Brooks single, “You Move Me,” which reached No. 2 on the country charts, and his Alison Krauss cut, “Maybe.”

Randy Thomas

Randy Thomas has received numerous awards for his work in the pop, country, and Christian genres. These include the Grammy, Dove, ASCAP, NSAI, and Nashville Music awards. His pop/country smash “Butterfly Kisses” has been performed and recorded by numerous artists. “Butterfly Kisses” was the crossover hit of ‘97. Written with Bob Carlisle, it was #1 for seven weeks on Adult Contemporary radio, won a Grammy for country song of the year, and sold 3 million CDs.

Randy is currently worship director for Westminster Presbyterian Church in Fort Myers Florida, and is still very active writing and producing and recording.

The Heights Center, supported by the Heights Foundation, is a place for Education, Opportunity, and Enrichment. The Heights Foundation works to build strong, self-sufficient families in the Harlem Heights neighborhood. As a 501(c)3 grassroots organization, the Center’s mission is to promote family and community development, support education, health and wellness, and provide the benefits of enrichment, expressive and cultural arts.

Harlem Heights was originally settled as a rural agricultural community. Approximately 1,200 children live in a mixture of single-family homes and multi-family apartments. Demographically, the population is approximately 55% Hispanic, 36% African-American, and 9% Caucasian. The poverty rate for children in Harlem Heights is more than twice the county average, with family income 40% below the county average. Families are not able to easily access family support services located in downtown Fort Myers, and benefit greatly from programs located within the neighborhood.